1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mounting structure for a vehicle headlamp, and, more particularly, to a vehicle headlamp mounting structure in which damping members, made of a rubber material, are provided to absorb shock applied from an impact with a headlamp, thereby effectively alleviating damage to a lens and other internal elements due to their unintentional movements, while ensuring the headlamp being water-tight.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a vehicle headlamp, also called a headlight, has a function of switching a light beam up and down, in order to prevent blinding other drivers. The headlamp is fixedly fastened to a vehicle body by use of fasteners, for example, bolts and nuts.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating a conventional mounting structure for a vehicle headlamp. As shown in FIG. 1, to mount the headlamp on the front end of a vehicle between a bonnet 3 and a bumper 5, conventionally, a mounting boss 8 is integrally formed with an upper member panel 4 of a headlamp housing 1, and is fastened by use of bolts 7. Then, a plurality of snap-fitting pins or bolts is used to be fastened to a support panel 2.
A problem of the conventional mounting structure for the vehicle headlamp is in that associated mounting elements are fixed. In this case, the headlamp often tends to crack or break since shock generated in a vehicle crash is directly applied to the headlamp. Also, elements inside the headlamp housing may be damaged as they are unintentionally moved and collide with each other.
Another problem of the conventional mounting structure is in that only bolts are used to fasten the headlamp. Such a bolt fastening has no function of preventing water from permeating into the headlamp housing in rainy weather or during a car wash. Thus, there may be a risk that the water will corrode the elements inside the headlamp housing and change the direction a light beam is projected, causing inconvenience and danger to other drivers.
In particular, the conventional headlamp mounting structure is in contravention of European Pedestrian Safety Statutes wherein, when a pedestrian collides with the front of a vehicle to apply shock downward to the upper end of a headlamp from an angle of 45° to 50°, the headlamp is affected by a shock force less than a moment of 300 Nm so that the shock force can be wholly absorbed by elements of the headlamp mounting structure, in order to effectively alleviate damage to the pedestrian.